Consumers can expect higher pump prices on Christmas Eve as the country’s oil firms implemented an oil price hike of as much as P1.45 per liter to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market.
The oil firms raised the price of diesel by P1.45 per liter, kerosene by P0.75 per liter and gasoline by P0.50 per liter effective 6am Tuesday.
The Department of Energy (DOE) warned last week that oil prices will go up this week due to the stronger dollar versus the peso and the fall of US crude stocks.
Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas last week said the expected higher pump prices can be attributed to the potential supply impact of the tighter sanctions against Russia, stoking further oil price volatility and optimism on economic growth and demand for oil following the interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
He said another factor is the tight diesel and gasoline supply in Asia due to limited exports from China and South Korea but this is capped by ample regional stockpile.
On Dec. 17, 2024, oil companies implemented an increase on the price of petroleum products. Both gasoline and diesel have increased by P0.80 per liter, while kerosene has increased by P0.10 per liter.
Year-to-date, total adjustment of gasoline and diesel stands at a net increase of P12.55 per liter and P9.85 per liter, respectively. On the other hand, kerosene has a total net decrease of P2.55 per liter.
Prevailing retail prices of petroleum products in the NCR for December 10 to 16 showed that gasoline sells from P49.75 to P73.76 per liter, diesel from P48.20 to P69.35 per liter and kerosene from P69.99 to P80.84 per liter.
